Ask Dr. Universe: How do spiders make silk?

Dr-Universe-230MOUNT VERNON, Wash. – Spiders can do some amazing things with their sticky, stretchy and super-strong silk. We cats are pretty curious about these little silk-spinning machines, too.

Besides chasing spiders around, I’ve watched them use silk to build webs, catch bugs and protect their young spiderlings.

Some spiders will even eat their own web. Imagine if you could build your own house and eat it, too.

Spiders have lots of jobs to do, and eating their web is one way they can get a bit of energy. It’s also a good back-up meal in case they don’t catch any bugs. After all, their silk is made up of protein.

Inside their abdomens, spiders have a liquid made of watery proteins. They also have special, nozzle-like organs called spinnerets.

Read all of this answer from Dr. Universe at https://askdruniverse.wsu.edu/2016/10/03/spiders-make-silk/.

 

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